Briscoe's father was the proprietor of Lawlor Briscoe, a furniture factory on Ormond Quay which made, refurbished, imported, exported and sold furniture, trading all over Ireland and abroad. Abraham Briscoe – known universally as Pappa – had arrived in Ireland penniless, and made his fortune through hard work and his charm as a salesman, first as a brush salesman, then of imported tea. He married Ida Yoedicke, daughter of a successful family in Frankfurt, who had left Lithuania and the racist Russian laws limiting Jews from success and a decent life, to live in the more liberal Germany.[7] Abraham and Ida had seven children; only two of their sons, Ben and Joe, remained in Dublin. Ben followed his father into politics, while Joe went into the army.[1]

Joe Briscoe joined the army at age of 15 (claiming to be 18) in 1945. He retired in 1993 with the rank of Commandant.[1]

During the Irish Civil War, Briscoe was involved in an incident with fellow anti-treaty IRA members who attacked pro-treaty politician Darrell Figgis at his home. The assault resulted in Figgis losing some of his beard. In his biography, he recalls an incident of being recognised by a pro-Treaty opponent during the Civil War. Briscoe merely turned and walked away, confident that his enemy would not shoot him in the back.[9]

Elected to the Dáil in the newly independent Ireland, Briscoe worked with Patrick J Little to bring through a law limiting the interest that could be charged by moneylenders – and also, as he wrote, "made it illegal for a married woman to borrow money without the knowledge and consent of her husband, for these foolish ones are always the easiest prey of the moneylenders".[10]

During the Second World War, Briscoe, at this time a member of Dáil Éireann, came under close scrutiny from the Irish security services. His support for Zionism and his lobbying on behalf of refugees was considered potentially damaging to the interests of the state by officials from the Department of Justice. Briscoe was an admirer and friend of Ze'ev Jabotinsky and his campaign to liberate the Jews.[11][12] Between 1939 and 1940, Robert Briscoe along with John Henry Patterson, a former commander of the 4th battalion Royal Irish Fusiliers and the Zion Mule Corps,[13] were involved in fund raising for the Irgun in the USA.[14] Jabotinsky while head of Irgun visited Dublin to receive training in guerrilla warfare tactics against the British under the instruction of Briscoe.[15] During the period Briscoe described himself as the "Chair of Subversive Activity against England".[16] He wished for Ireland to give asylum to Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, but did so discreetly in order not to be accused of compromising the neutrality policy of the Fianna Fáil government.[17]

The Emerald Isle immigration center in New York has devoted a special award in his name called the Robert Briscoe award. The group celebrates the close relationship between Jewish and Irish communities in New York and honours Jewish New Yorkers who have helped support immigration in the United States. The latest winner of the award was US Senator Chuck Schumer.[20]